Burt Reynolds, We Will Miss You

Written by: Joe Niamtu, III, DMD

I have to admit that Burt Reynolds was one of my heroes. When I was growing up (and for a long time after that) he was the man. He was a man’s man. He was good actor, and had an unbelievable sense of humor, married Lonnie Anderson and posed for Playgirl magazine. The original Longest Yard was one of my favorite movies.

While taking a cosmetic surgery course at UCLA about 20 years ago, I went to a restaurant for lunch and there sits Burt Reynolds! I wanted to approach him but thought he would be rude or some bodyguard would intervene. As he was leaving I asked him how he was doing and we spoke for about 10 minutes. What a nice guy. He had people with him, but he hung out with me, just shooting the breeze. I had a camera in my briefcase for the course, and since this was the days before selfies, I asked him if I could take a picture. He said he was happy to and below you see Joe and Burt, both with more hair. I felt really bad when I heard he passed. Party on Big Burt!